Abstract.— Analysis of surface 

 and subsurface plankton collections 

 in the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) 

 yielded larvae and juveniles of 

 Phycis chesteri and five species of 

 Urophycis. Identification was based 

 on numbers of epibranchial gill rak- 

 ers, abdominal vertebrae, and fin 

 rays (dorsal, caudal, pelvic), patterns 

 of pterygiophore interdigitation, and 

 morphometric characters including 

 body depth at the vent and a ratio 

 between height of the pelvic-fin base 

 and length of the mandible. 

 Urophycis tenuis accounted for 99% 

 of the Urophycis larvae and pelagic 

 juveniles collected during spring off 

 Virginia and New Jersey and was 

 most abundant offshore. Urophycis 

 tenuis larvae were smallest at off- 

 shore stations and increased in size 

 as collections proceeded shoreward. 

 Urophycis chuss was found in sum- 

 mer and fall collections off the coasts 

 of New Jersey and Virginia, with 

 abundances highest at midshelf sta- 

 tions. Urophycis chuss was the only 

 species of hake found during August 

 and early September, and it domi- 

 nated summer ichthyoplankton col- 

 lections. Urophycis regia was found 

 primarily in midshelf areas off Vir- 

 ginia during fall, but was also col- 

 lected offshore from both Virginia 

 and New Jersey during winter. 

 Phycis chesteri, also found in fall and 

 winter collections, was restricted to 

 offshore stations. Southern species, 

 found exclusively in offshore winter 

 collections, included U. floridana and 

 U. cirrata. 



Identification and distribution of 

 Urophycis and Phycis [Pisces, 

 Gadidae) larvae and pelagic 

 juveniles \n the U.S. Middle 

 Atlantic Bight* 



Bruce H. Comyns 



Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William & Mary 

 Gloucester Point. Virginia 23062 



Present address. Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. PO. Box 7000 

 Ocean Springs. Mississippi 39564 



George C. Grant 



Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William & Mary 

 Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062 



Manuscript accepted 4 December 1992. 

 Fishery Bulletin, U.S. 91:210-223 (1993). 



Species of the gadid genera Urophycis 

 (Gill) and Phycis (Artedi), collectively 

 referred to as 'hakes', are abundant 

 on the continental shelf and slope of 

 the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Six 

 species of Urophycis and one species 

 of Phycis are found in this area 

 (Svetovidov 1948, Wenner 1983): U 

 tenuis (Mitchill), U. chuss (Walbaum), 

 U. regia (Walbaum), U. floridana 

 (Bean and Dresel), U. earlli (Bean), 

 U. cirrata (Goode and Bean), and P. 

 chesteri (Goode and Bean). Larval 

 hake are present at all times of the 

 year in the Middle Atlantic Bight 

 (MAB) and dominate summer plank- 

 ton collections (Comyns 1987), but 

 persistent taxonomic problems ( Dunn 

 & Matarese 1984) have hindered the 

 accumulation of ecological data on 

 these important components of offshore 

 ichthyoplankton communities (Kendall 

 & Naplin 1981, Hermes 1985). 



Newly hatched U. chuss and U. 

 regia of known parentage were 

 described by Hildebrand & Cable 

 (1938), Miller & Marak ( 1959), Barans 

 & Barans (1972), and Serebryakov 

 (1978). Although these sources de- 

 scribe pigmentation differences be- 

 tween the two species, this informa- 

 tion alone is insufficient to positively 

 identify field-caught larvae. 



Older larvae and juveniles of U. 

 chuss, U. regia, U. floridana, and a 

 single juvenile specimen of U. earlli 

 were described by Hildebrand & 

 Cable (1938). Larvae and juveniles 

 of U. regia were collected off Beau- 

 fort NC and were identified by the 

 presence of relatively few second 

 dorsal-fin rays and lack of dark ven- 

 tral-fin pigment. A second larval 

 morph collected off Beaufort was 

 tentatively identified as U. floridana 

 because adult U. floridana was the 

 only other species of Urophycis com- 

 monly found in the collection area. 

 These specimens differed from U. re- 

 gia in having darkly-pigmented ven- 

 tral fins and more second dorsal-fin 

 rays. A single juvenile specimen 

 (37 mm) collected off Beaufort was 

 identified as U. earlli because this 

 specimen was darker than U. regia 

 and U. floridana, and possessed 

 smaller scales. Specimens of a fourth 

 morph, collected off Cape Henry VA 

 were identified as U. chuss because 

 they possessed dark ventral-fin 

 pigment, were relatively slender- 

 bodied, and it was assumed that 



Contribution 1799 of the Virginia Institute 

 of Marine Science and School of Marine Sci- 

 ence. The College of William & Mary 



210 



